A Cloudburst of Blessings

A Cloudburst of Blessings

Maṇḍala of the Northern Treasures Black Razor Vajrakīla from a painting on the ceiling of the Guru Rinpoche assembly hall Dorje Drak Monastery, Shimla, North India, 2014

A CLOUDBURST OF BLESSINGS The water initiation and other rites of empowerment for the practice of the Northern Treasures Vajrakīla Vajrakī la Texts of the Northern Treasures Tradition Volume Four by Rig-'dzin rdo-rje WANDEL VERLAG berlin 2017

Khordong Commentary Series XIII This book is dedicated to my wife and family, in appreciation of their unwavering love and support. May the merit be shared throughout limitless space! Frontispiece and drawings on pages 29, 32, 241 & 293 by Nick Dudka: www.thangka-art.com Drawings on pages 121, 148 & 318 by Robert Beer: www.tibetanart.com Drawings on pages 147, 224 & 283 are woodcuts of Mongolian origin. All illustrations used by kind permission of the artists. ISBN: 978-3-942380-23-2 2017 Martin J. Boord Published by WANDEL VERLAG berlin, 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publisher. First edition, 2017 Printed in Germany on FSC certified 100% acid-, wood- & chlorine-free longlasting paper conforming to ANSI standard. edition khordong is the publication series of the non-profit Khordong e.v. in Germany, published by WANDEL VERLAG berlin. Please visit our websites: Web: www.khordong.net www.wandel-verlag.de www.tsagli.net Contact: edition@khordong.net mail@wandel-verlag.de WANDEL VERLAG berlin 2017

PROLOGUE Intended only for dedicated disciples of outstanding integrity, the purpose of a tantric empowerment, initially bestowed by the sprinkling of water, is to wash away defilements and purify the disciple s body, speech and mind in order to prepare him or her for the profound practices of speedy maturation and liberation on the stages of development and perfection. Being led into the very heart of the teachings, symbolised by a throne at the centre of a spacious maṇḍala, the worthy disciple is introduced to his own buddha nature in the form of a wisdom deity and is taught to meditate upon the special qualities and activities of that deity in order to awaken and strengthen these potentialities within himself. Receiving the seed of the mind of enlightenment (bodhicittabindu), in both relative and absolute forms, directly from his guru, the disciple is subsequently taught how to arouse and maintain this precious essence within himself. Of crucial importance in the life of anyone who wishes to follow the path of secret mantra, the occasion of a tantric empowerment is a pivotal moment of guidance in which the stages and direction of the path to be followed are made clear, and the sacred bond that is forged between the guru and disciple at this time constitutes a samaya vow of amazing power and depth. Having washed away the impure habit patterns of worldly entanglement, the guru gradually introduces the disciple to increasingly subtle states of consciousness, and thus the disciple awakens to an open and fresh paradigm of being, in which the material world is transformed into a pure land and all living beings are viewed as deities. The ultimate state of a buddha, however, being radiantly clear and utterly free of grasping conceptions, the disciple must eventually discard even this purified restructuring of his outlook in order to reach the final stage of complete liberation. This path is not for the faint hearted, and only those who are able to take upon themselves the vows of heroic conduct will ultimately be prepared to face the dynamic energy of blissful wisdom as they open to the non-dual unity of all things within vast, all-pervading emptiness. ITI SAMAYA With regard to the way in which the disciple should prepare himself for a vajrayāna empowerment, see The Path of Secret Mantra: Teachings of the Northern Treasures Five Nails, and with regard to the characteristics of the ācārya who is to bestow the empowerment, the nature of the disciple who is to receive it, the benefits to be derived from empowerment and the disadvantages of not being initiated, see Gathering the Elements, Ch.VI.

vii CONTENTS Introduction 1 Water Empowerment of Mahottarakīla a treasure text of Rig- dzin rgod-ldem 82 how the yogin prepares himself & prepares the site 82 drawing the maṇḍala 86 inviting the deities & presenting offerings 89 installation of the deities 90 preparation of the disciple 91 rituals of the maṇḍala 92 drinking the oath water 94 absorption of the wisdom deity 96 entering the maṇḍala 96 the actual empowerment 98 the vase empowerment 98 the secret empowerment 101 the ten beneficial empowerments 104 the empowerment of the wisdom kīla of the heart 106 the empowerment of violent liberation 112 the empowerment of union 117 Empowerment Ritual for the Black Razor Vajrakīla a treasure text of Rig- dzin rgod-ldem 122 (i) empowerment of the mind 123 (ii) empowerment of the personal seals 123 (iii) empowerment of the resultant emanation 123 (a) drawing the maṇḍala 124 (b) assembling the required items 124 (c) the sequence of ritual activities 124 (d) the actual bestowal of empowerment 126 (e) concluding acts 147 Auspicious Flask of Jewels expanded ritual text with commentary, by Rig- dzin padma phrin-las 148 (1) Preparation 150 requesting the earth spirits for the use of the site 151 purifying the site 153 attaining mastery of the site 154

viii drawing the maṇḍala: three rites of preliminary consecration (i) installation of the deities 162 (ii) preparation of the flasks 163 (iii) preparation of the disciples 166 drawing the maṇḍala: the actual drawing 182 (2) Main Practice 191 (i) receiving empowerment for one s own benefit 191 (ii) bestowing empowerment for the benefit of others 199 (a) twenty-five steps of entering the maṇḍala (1-6) the outer steps 199 (7-25) the inner steps 204 (b) the actual empowerment 224 the vase empowerment 226 the secret empowerment 244 the empowerment of liberation 247 the wisdom knowledge empowerment 263 the fourth empowerment 269 three concluding acts 272 (3) Subsequent Activities 274 Rite of Liberation notes on the supreme view by mkha - gro bde-ba i rdo-rje 284 Vajrakīla Empowerment of Long Life a treasure text of Rig- dzin rgod-ldem 300 (i) preparation of the flask 300 (ii) securing the boundaries 301 (iii) recitation of the heart mantra 301 (iv) empowering the ritual flask 302 (v) the descent of blessings 305 (vi) summoning the life force 308 (vii) concealing the life force 312 (viii) receiving the empowerment of longevity 313 (ix) bestowing the empowerment 316 (x) receiving the siddhi of long life 317